Maxxis
High Roller
Tire

Product Description

The High Roller is Maxxis' most popular mountain bikeTire, and for pretty obvious reasons. It's extremely versatile, featuring ramped leading edges and grooved center knobs for a fast roll and straight-line control, plus side lugs for extra stability at speed and a sharp edge for corners. With its wide arrange of features,The High Roller is well suitedTo any mountain biking discipline from XCTo freeride. Select models use Maxxis' "LUST" lightweight USTTubeless casing, as listed3CTriple Com

User Reviews

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Submitted by
Amato

Date Reviewed: June 4, 2014

Strengths: Grips like a motha!

Weaknesses: The speed will make you stupid.

Bottom Line:

Use to worry on fast berms and loose sand due to skidding out with my old tires. All that fear vanished after the first hour with the high rollers. If your still reading this and haven't bought them yet then your wasting time.

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Submitted by
Marco Antonio Avila

Date Reviewed: December 23, 2013

Strengths: Rolls fast, good grip and handling

Weaknesses: too soft compund wears out fast in asphalt, did not resist an impact

Bottom Line:

Got two of them (Tubeless) from my local bike shop here in Mexico, here all the bike parts are more expensive than in US, the tire performed very well but using it in the city wears out rapidly the tire, finally In a ride in the mountain it impacted a rock and form a terrible bump that turned it unusuable, fortunately I was almost retuned to my truck, but if this would happen up in the woods it could take me a couple of hours to come back.

Strengths: Low rolling resistance, nice grip in compacted ground and sand. Good in tarmac, even when it's wet. Good for agresive cornering. Good as front tire.

Weaknesses: Not as good for gravel and loose stuff. They won't work on mud.

Bottom Line:

I have got this as front tire for 3000 km and it still works. They are pretty good for long XC rides in summer, when you can find sand and compact soil. There is no problem if you have to ride on asphalt. You can even handle on rocks. Rain isn't a problem.

However, they are not confident on loose stuff and gravel, specially when breaking or descending. They totally fail in mud, they cover quickly with a layer of soil .

Cornering it's ok, not as progressive as in other tires, but they won't fail when you need them. Puncture resistance it's pretty good. Nice front XC tire for summer.

Compared to the excavator, ignitor and timberwolf, the high rollers offer the best traction and most speed that I can tell. They ain't cheap, though.

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Submitted by
Matthew Norris

Date Reviewed: May 13, 2013

Strengths: Grip! Good rolling resistance for such a knobby tire, great braking. With it being a 2.35 and me riding a hardtail frame and solid fork, this is the tire for me. I'm running a Maxxis Ardent in the back and what a good combo. Soft compound make this tire smooth to ride and the grip is confidence inspiring.

Weaknesses: For XC it's probably too aggressive but for the terrain here in Israel (very dry) it's works great. Not for XC, but Maxxis makes a great tire.

Bottom Line:

For a front tire on an AM bike, BUY IT. You will like it.

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Submitted by
Phillip
a All Mountain Rider

Date Reviewed: October 5, 2012

Strengths: Roll decently for a 2.35

Weaknesses: Cornering style

Bottom Line:

Cornering grip is odd. There's no knobs between the center and outside ones. The tire corners like there's a gap. When you first lean into a turn they slip and then grip. You have to lean more to get them to grab. This gives a drift then grab cornering style. I'm not a fan. I've been on panaracers and nevegals and they just grip evenly.

I have the 26x2.35 60a Duro, wire bead for both front & rear tires. I ride aggressively during trail rides on my 33lb Haro FS bike using Pike 454 fork. I've tried these tires on both dry & muddy conditions & so far, it has proven that it's low rolling resistance is hard to beat, compared to nevs. Another stand out feature are the side lugs, which has saved me countless times from slipping on wet roots.

I've noticed that high rollers has a bare transition area between the middle tamped knobs & the "lifesaving" sideknobs. It causes a predictable slip when rolling over wet tracks. This is very noticible especially on wide tires 2.35 & above. I hope they've improved on high rollers 2 version.

One way of knowing how awesome it's grip is by riding at a slow pace on pavement then slowly turn to either side & feel the tire's countering force. That's how awesome it is

Strengths: Eventually it becomes a slick that works fine on flat dry stuff

Not bad on very hard packed ground

Weaknesses: I bought a couple of these and have found...

They have a fast wear rate
They show V. poor traction if the ground has seen any moisture (at all)
Avoid tree roots, slate or gravel / loose rock surfaces in these (especially if there has been any rain... at all)

Bottom Line:

I can't recommend these to anyone who likes to play anywhere that involves loose surfaces or it may rain. Similarly if you run tubeless changing these over to a.n.other tyre to cope with other conditions becomes a pain.

I won't be buying these again and I've binned the second part worn tyre.
Good luck

Strengths: Very aggresive pattern, tough tires, no pinches so far, great traction, great cornering!

Weaknesses: Weight, rolling resistance, wear (I got a Super Tacky version and the compound for that is very soft).

Bottom Line:

Right now my bike has a Minion DHF up front and a High Roller in the back both UST Super Tacky. Killer Combo!!!!! If you like going fast down the hill without breaking on corners and still rolling down at high speed this is the tire for you! However I must recommend it on the back. With the combination I have right now is my bike is like an angry dog going down the hill, tearing the ground, laughing at slopes, landing soft, and cornering like magnets! The feel of having this tire in the rear is a little bit weird at first and takes a little bit to get used to, just until you get aggresive and you discover that the tire is made for punishment.

The thing I like the most is cornering. You do have to lean your bike, but that is the best part! When leaning there is a point where the tire starts to skid but just for a bit, then you lean more and it grabs to the ground like a beaver, corrects your path, and spits you out of the corner like a rocket!

The only bad thing about the version I got is the rolling resistance. As my style is a bit more All Mountain-ish going up the hill is tough. I don't use my truck to get to the mountain, so I ride all the way from home and tarmac really kills a Super Tacky High Roller, fast! But once you get up there, going down is like a speed metal song with perfect timing on drums.

Going to swap for a Larsen 26x2.4 UST, but just because the size of my High Roller rubs the frame pretty frequently and the pattern has half worn out. Also because I have heard Larsens are pretty fast tires too. I will keep my Minion DHF up front because of a lot of good things, like control; but that's for another review ;)

Strengths: Resilient sidewall, great climbing traction, never spins out while climbing, awesome traction on the edge, rolls with next to no resistance, No pinch flat issues. The tread wear seems to be non-existent thus far as well, I am beating the hell out of these tires and they look like brand new still!

Weaknesses: None so far, I really like this tire.

Bottom Line:

This is a great all around tire for riding in the Sierra Nevada mountains, it holds traction on loose over hard pack, it climbs well, it handles high speed downhill well, and it's available in various sizes.

Strengths: Good grip in dry and wet conditions, fairly good in muddy conditions. Pretty durable. Very good puncture resistance.

Weaknesses: The UK price has gone up since I purchased them over two years ago - but I suppose that's down to currency exchange rates.

Bottom Line:

The bike came with Bulldog tyres - 1 positive attribute was lack of weight, but no grip once there was a damp surface and very prone to thorn punctures. Replaced the Bulldogs with Highrollers - 60a on rear 42 super tacky on front, both single ply. These tyres are so much better is almost every way and have really improved my confidence going over roots, in rocky conditions and even in thick mud they're fairly predictible. I put a Nevegal UST on the rear last summer to decrease rolling resistance but have found the grip substantially reduced - will go back to the Highroller soon.

Strengths: they roll really nicely, have good grip in dry and moist conditions, can handle the wet however. not too heavy, look good, fairly cheap, good open tread design.

Weaknesses: none really, havent worn down much yet

Bottom Line:

great tyres, ignore the reviews below about them being bad, its little kids not knowing their stuff! they roll really well, stones dont get caught in them, theyre grippy, theyre well made, theyre quite puncture proof, come in loads of sizes, loads of types like super tackys etc.
i used to hate maxxis after my first set, which were terrible but they were ignitors.
i bought these to replace my specialized chunder tires. i don t regret the change for a second.
for the record i run 60a compound, dual ply rear, single ply on the front.
single ply side walls are flimsy but theyre fine. dual ply are nice and rigid and stiff.

Related High Roller Forum Posts

Hey all, I still have the Ardent 2.4 from the OEM build kit that came with my SB95c. I found it and the ikon to be too drifty for my liking so I've swapped them out for Trail Boss rear and Vigilante front. That said, I'm interested in trying out different tires and I'm considering the Ardent 2.4 r ... Read More »

i recently sold an suv and bought a fiesta st and decided to go with a roof rack set up. i got a yakima highroller on an inno rack. everything seems to fit good and be solid, bike holds nice when i mount it and shake it by hand but while driving down the road i constantly hear a knocking/rattle no ... Read More »

I can chose between these two options:
1. Pair of Maxxis High Roller 2.1 (new)
2. Only one Maxxis High Roller 2.35 (used, 90% of life left). I would use it as a front tire
What would be my best bet? I ride 30% tarmac/urban dh/stair ride other 70% are mud/dry/jumps/rippin' them up on ground. B ... Read More »

Currently running a 2.25 Ardent on the rear, but looking for something a bit more aggressive. Looking at the HR2 but is there room for a 2.4 in the back of an HD? Also, running a 2.5 Minion up front, how does the 2.4 HR2 compare size wise.
Thanks.Read More »

Yakima claims the High Roller will work with any size wheel from 20" to 29", but it does not have the slots needed to work with 27.5" (it goes from 26 to 29, but no 27.5 in between). Has Yakima introduced a roof top carrier that works with 27.5" ??Read More »